About Merchant + Trade Rooftop Bar

High above Uptown Charlotte, our rooftop lounge is a vibrant retreat of sleek and modern furnishings, lush foliage and soft lighting beckoning both visitors and locals. Our custom-designed playlists, expertly crafted cocktails and delicious bar snacks create a relaxed and welcoming vibe, while our covered terrace lets you enjoy the views no matter the weather. We are a 21+ venue.

Meet Our People

Robert Hoffman

Executive Chef

Robert Hoffman is Executive Chef of Angeline’s, an Italian-influenced modern American restaurant and urban gathering place, and its sister operation Merchant & Trade, a 19th-floor rooftop lounge and event space, in Charlotte, N.C.

Hoffman joined the Kimpton family in 2016 as Executive Chef at SaltRock Kitchen & Amara Resort in Sedona, Arizona. Prior to that, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign graduate was executive chef at Labriola Ristorante & Café on Chicago’s Michigan Ave. He’s spent much of his restaurant career in his hometown of Chicago.

He’s schooled in both “high-tech” molecular gastronomy and techniques such as butchery and charcuterie.

Andrew Carlson

Director of Food and Beverage

Andy Carlson first joined Kimpton Restaurants & Bars in 2011. His successes in the Mid-Atlantic led to his appointment to director of food and beverage for the first Kimpton restaurant in Charlotte, N.C. In this role, Carlson will oversee Angeline’s, an Italian-influenced modern American restaurant, Merchant & Trade, a 19th-floor rooftop lounge, and all of the catering and in-room dining for Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel, all of which are set to open in fall of 2017.

Prior to moving to Charlotte, Carlson served as general manager for two Kimpton restaurants and bars at Radiator in Washington, D.C. and Jackson 20 in historic Old Town Alexandria. From 2011 to 2015, Carlson was bar manager at Poste Moderne Brasserie, a Kimpton restaurant in Washington, DC and, under his leadership, the restaurant’s bar was the highest grossing among all U.S. Kimpton properties.

Carlson has a service philosophy “where empathy and hospitality come first,” he says. He’s also a really likable guy; he won the Personality Award at the 2017 Kimpton Chef and General Manager conference.